Does fitness just complicate matters for you? So much so
that it’s not something you contemplate doing on a daily basis or do you find
that it actually helps you to manage the rest of your life with more
efficiency? Time or the lack of it is a common barrier to exercise but what if
the time you invest in a regular routine of fresh air and exercise that is
“planned, repetitive, structured and purposive” actually paid back more than it
cost, surely that would be a winning deal.
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review on just
that topic the authors found that in those who undertook regular physical
exercise professionals were able to better manage their work and life balance
with less conflict than those who didn't participate in regular exercise. I
think the word ‘conflict’ is an incredibly powerful word to use for describing
what happens when the natural and peaceful flow of life is disrupted.
We know what happens to the body in real life conflict:
stress hormones - cortisol, fight or flight mechanisms – adrenalin, and what
happens with these is that homeostasis (the natural balance of simply being) is
disrupted. As Shawn Talbott PhD. says in his book ‘The Cortisol Connection –
why stress makes you fat and ruins your health and what you can do about it’, “a
chronic stress response, such as the one we mount every day when faced with
deadlines, money concerns, traffic, family concerns, irritating coworkers and
other worries causes an immediate and profound change in a variety of hormones
in our bodies”.
The authors in the HBR article investigated further in order
to be able to distinguish the reasons why exercise reduces conflict in
work-life balance and their findings are very interesting. They found that a
reduction in stress is gained from regular exercise and that this transfers to
a more positive attitude and an increase in self-efficacy. In practical terms,
people with high self-efficacy are more likely to feel they can take on
difficult tasks and do them with less stress involved.
We all know that managing the work-life balance is generally
hard and at times down-right impossible. It is at these times that it seems
impossible to be able to maintain some semblance of an exercise routine.
Perhaps if our perceptions and priorities changed to release some pressure with
these sorts of methods before the lid blows then we would find a less health
challenging time arises out of conflicting situations, as there will always be
conflict.
There are a number of ways in which you can fit more
exercise habits into your schedule and having the support of those who require
your time is paramount. If it’s your family then being able to manage roles and
responsibilities with the help of your relatives will enable you. Supplemental
to this many employers are now finding that as they too benefit, having staff
more capable in their work roles with less conflict from home is of benefit to the
bottom line. Sometimes all it takes for a company to turn around many of its
staffing issues is an open mind and leaders who are prepared to steer in the
direction of a comprehensive mental and physical health plan.
So go forth and make time to exercise safe in the knowledge
that when you do so you are giving to yourself and at the same time giving to
those around you. As is always my advice – keep sessions short and snappy and
steer clear from the long distance running, it’s just a waste of perfectly good
time!
